He’s So Much More

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:14,15). Let’s understand here that Jesus himself made an analogy of “the serpent in the wilderness” in regard to his own death on the cross of Calvary, and that analogy was to the understanding that he died so that all who believe on him should “not persih, but have eternal life.” In a world of constant perishing, I would have to say that it’s a really big deal to not have to perish. With that thought in mind I want to go back to the book of Numbers and show just exactly what was going on with “the serpent in the wilderness” that “Moses lifted up,” as Jesus referred to. “And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. So Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived” (Num. 21:5-9). This brass serpent was a type of Jesus, as he himself stated, and the people being healed of venomous serpent’s bites by looking to the brass serpent was a type of someone being delivered from sin and its consequence of death by faith in Jesus (Rom. 6:23; Jn. 3:16; Rom. 8:2).

I would like to also incorporate the reality of divine healing into this equation today, and show why we should be able to be healed of any physical infirmity by the same means that we are able to be delivered from sin and its symptoms by true faith in Jesus and his death and resurrection. Now let’s consider that the children of Israel in the wilderness were being bitten and killed by venomous serpents before Moses lifted up the brass serpent at God’s instruction. But after Moses installed the serpent on the pole as God told him to do, the people were miraculously healed of the poisonous snakes bites by simply looking to the brass serpent. Let’s also consider that this brass serpent did not die for ANY of these people, and in fact it was never even alive to begin with. It is just as evident that the brass serpent did not raise from the dead for anyone’s healing or deliverance. The serpent in the wilderness that Moses lifted up was nothing but a serpent made of brass and set up on a pole. Nevertheless it was made and set up at the instruction of God, therefore those who obeyed the instruction to look upon it were healed and delivered from death by looking to it. This incident took place more than thirteen hundred years before Jesus even came to this world. So the question is, If these people could be healed miraculously and delivered from certain death by looking to the brass serpent, HOW MUCH MORE should we be delivered from all sin and healed of all physical infirmity by looking steadfastly to Jesus in faith? After all, Jesus DID die for our sins, and he DID take a horrific beating that we might be healed of all physical infirmity. And the truth is that he did raise from the dead in order to provide these miracle cures for us. As it is written: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:5).

No ifs ands or buts about it, this is just simplistic and powerful truth about God’s Son, the savior of the world. That truth says that we can have peace for our souls because of the chastisement he took for us, and that we can be healed of all physical infirmity because of the stripes that he took for our healing. If God provided miraculous healing by the brass serpent for his people in the wilderness who were being afflicted for their disobedience and unbelief; HOW MUCH MORE healing has he provided for us through the suffering, and death, and resurrection of his Son whom he sent for us? It really is that simple. No tricks, no mysteries; just plain scriptural facts. If God respected the serpent on the pole that was put up at his command, HOW MUCH MORE does he respect the merits of his Son’s suffering and death, whom he sent to suffer and die for us at his command? The truth is that we need to wake up and stop wasting what God has provided for us by means of the ultimate cost that his Son paid. What Jesus did is A WHOLE LOT MORE than what the brass serpent did, because it didn’t do anything at all, or even have a life TO lose for anyone’s sake. Jesus has paid the greatest price ever paid so that he could redeem us from all sin and heal us of all physical infirmity. God forbid that we should allow ANY of that cost to go to waste because of our lethargic unbelief about what he has done. May God help us to have due regard for the suffering and death of his Son, simply by believing the truth of what he did and why he did it. May we also honor the suffering, and death, and resurrection of Jesus by being delivered from all sin and healed of all infirmity. He is much more than a brass serpent. Amen.